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19 February 2007

A story of awe and inspiration. Abigail and Brittany Hensel (born 7 March 1990, United States), are dicephalic conjoined twins. Brittany is the left twin, and Abigail is the right twin. They have two spines which join at the pelvis. They have two stomachs, three lungs, and two arms. Here is a footage from "Joined for Life: Abby and Brittany Turn 16" via The Learning Channel.

Conjoined twins are a rare event in the world's delivery rooms. They occur about once in every 50,000 births, but 40% are stillborn, and, curiously, 70% are female. Conjoined twins are always identical: the product of a single egg that for some unknown reason failed to divide fully into separate twins during the first three weeks of gestation.

These young ladies have a wonderful positive attitude and have adapted well to live an incredibly normal life. Have a look at their most recent photo album below. How can you not respect them for how they are dealing with the cards they were dealt? Yet, I wonder. How could one of them take a test and the other not see the answers of the other? What if one had insomnia while the other wanted to sleep all the time? If one girl wants to go left and the other wants to go right, who (if either) would have dominant control of the legs? If one of them kisses a boy, would the other just look away? Would they marry one man (what if one didn't like the husband) or two (and have very awkward times in bed)? Would their kids have similar traits? Wow.. these things could boggle the mind.

This reminds me that there is so much that we take for granted. Don't forget, your life could have been a lot harder. Stop complaining about the simple things in life and be glad that you have your health and family.

19 thoughts:

Each one controls their side of the body. To walk, both have to cooperate. To type, both have to cooperate.

Growing up like this for over 15 years, they have learned to 'communicate' without words with each other, so they don't have to tell each other what they want to type, they just type.

One of the vids on them, the mother said one of the girls was sick and throwing up, so the other sister volunteered to take the medicine (different stomach, so it wasn't thrown up, but same blood supply).

They are truly an amazing example of teamwork. If we were half that good at it, 90% of the fights would not happen.

Driving is also interesting for them, but they are managing. The one who operates the gas likes to go fast, while the other likes to go slow. Essentially two people are driving. But they manage. It raises aninteresting question of who gets the ticket if they get pulled over for speeding.

I'm not trying to be insensitive or a troll here...but I just don't see a whole lot of adversity here.

I see two girls who are *different* but otherwise happy and healthy. They will face some hardship as they enter adulthood but they have their health, their family, and the strength to deal with said hardships.

To put my comment in perspective, I have two cousins who are deaf, diabetic, and legally blind. Their father (my uncle) is deaf and has failing eyesight and their mother who works to keep the family going has lung cancer which has recently spread to her brain.

the story of abigail and brittany is simply amazing, despite their abnormality, they have the mechanism to cope. they look happy in the pictures, even if perhaps everyday is a struggle. the story of abigail and brittany serve as inspiration to the many people who are "whole" but are struggling. they must have touched the lives of many.

I'm not trying to be insensitive or a troll here...but I just don't see a whole lot of adversity here.

I see two girls who are *different* but otherwise happy and healthy. They will face some hardship as they enter adulthood but they have their health, their family, and the strength to deal with said hardships.

To put my comment in perspective, I have two cousins who are deaf, diabetic, and legally blind. Their father (my uncle) is deaf and has failing eyesight and their mother who works to keep the family going has lung cancer which has recently spread to her brain.

I'm sorry for your family. I hope only for the best for them.

I think a lot of their hardship (the twins) probably comes from social interactions with others. These girls are human but they don't "look" like other people and lets face it, society is afraid of what is different. I'm sure they run into a lot of people who fear them and probably say some crazy things.

I watched the programme on the twins the other day. I was truly humbled by these lovely, bright girls.As you say, it really makes you think how life will be for them as they grow into adults.I'm sure they will find their path and be succesful and happy.Great blog....Cheers Phoenix71011

Not just because he is my nephew but you can tell from the program that Kevin Boozikee is a caring teacher who brings out the best in his students. His father, Kenneth, who died when Kevin was one year old, would be very proud!